Blink-182 isn't a name that people hear too often now. Back in the '90s and 2000s, the band was super popular, and people loved hit songs like "Adam's Song" and "What's My Age Again?"
In the past few years, the band isn't in the news too often, unless people are talking about Travis Barker's cool tattoos or what's going on in his romantic life.
But one person has been in the news, and that's former bandmate, Tom DeLonge. People have said that Tom DeLonge has a hobby that definitely gets everyone talking: looking into UFOs.
Does Tom DeLonge really believe in aliens? Let's take a look at DeLonge, who left the band two times, and whose reason for quitting in 2015 is super fascinating.
Tom's Beliefs
The US Navy said that clips of UFOs was real, and as it turns out, the former member of Blink-182 has something to do with that.
But backing up a bit: it turns out that Tom DeLonge has been talking about aliens since the '90s. He said that his friend knew people who worked for the government and saw UFOs.
According to Billboard.com, DeLonge said in 2015 to Paper Magazine that he had personally been in touch with UFOs. The musician said that he and some pals went to a place called Area 51 and he felt something. He said, "My whole body felt like it had static electricity…It sounded like there were about 20 people there, talking. And instantly my mind goes, OK, they’re at our campsite, they’re not here to hurt us." He continued, "but I can’t make out what they’re saying. But they’re working on something.”
In the same Paper interview, DeLonge said that people have known about aliens for a long time. He explained, "What people have to understand is the basic history of the UFO is very simple. The phenomenon has been around forever. All the ancient religions were written down based on witnessing this phenomenon in various forms. Governments of the world watched the phenomenon and tried to replicate the technology, but they did in secret."
DeLonge doesn't just talk about this in interviews, though: he was involved with a documentary called Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation. He was an executive producer on the movie.
DeLonge also started an organization called To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science and according to NME.com, the organization showed the public three clips in the years 2017 and 2018. NME.com described these as "captured by Navy pilots which seemingly showed strange objects appearing to accelerate rapidly in US airspace." The Pentagon also put out the videos and said that the footage was real.
NME.com quoted a navy pilot who told CNN about seeing these objects, "As I got close to it… it rapidly accelerated to the south, and disappeared in less than two seconds. This was extremely abrupt, like a ping pong ball, bouncing a wall. It would hit and go the other way.”
How It Began
While DeLonge has been recently quoted about his interest in aliens, it's true that this started much earlier.
DeLonge said he was in grade seven when he started researching UFOs. In an interview with The Guardian, he said, "I got deeply involved when I was starting seventh grade. Then, after Blink signed to a major label, I used my first cheque to buy a computer specifically to get deeper into researching the subject. It’s really all I’ve ever done outside of music and building a family.”
Leaving Blink-182
According to The Guardian, DeLonge and Mark Hoppus, the bassist of Blink-182, started the bank in 1992. They were in high school then and they also met Travis Barker, who would become the band's drummer.
DeLonge made headlines when he made the decision to leave the band.
According to NME.com, he made that choice in 2015, and he had his reasons. DeLonge said that he wanted to focus on something close to him, which is his work researching UFOs. He said, "I wanted to make a quick message to let you know that, from the heart, I left my band and all that I was known for because this is the moment in time where I can change the world for my kids and everybody else’s. I would love for you to consider doing that with us.”
According to Alternative Press, DeLonge says that the topic of UFOs will have a lasting impact on everyone. He explained, “The UFO subject, lifeforms coming here, interacting with our world and our government scurrying around, trying to figure it out and deal with it when it comes out, it is going to change the way people think about themselves. The belief systems that they have, religion, geopolitical order, [the] technology that can give clear running water and clean energy. All of these things, all these massively, massively transformation technologies and ideas will come from it."
